Togetherness
by merrawolf
Summary: Ever wonder how the ninjas celebrated holidays?
1. Chapter 1

It was Christmas Eve in Konoha. Three ninjas, out of place in the snowy wonderland, sat on the frost covered bench, waiting. Little children often stopped to stare at them, wondering who they were before dashing off.

"He's late." One of the ninjas muttered. His warm breath floated in the cold breeze before vanishing like smoke. A mysterious, large bundle was carried on his back. He glanced at his siblings and sighed. "Face it; we've waited for too long. We should be heading back-"

The female of the group, Temari, rolled her eyes. "Really, Kankuro, he's been known to be late. What do you expect? We can wait a little longer…right?"

Kankuro shrugged. "I guess." He frowned as he felt the bundle. "It's getting cold though. He'd better come quickly or he'll have to-"

"He's here." Unexpectedly, the last ninja of the trio, Gaara interrupted Kankuro. The other two siblings scanned the area…

"Surprise!" Uzumaki Naruto dropped down from a tree, carrying a huge packet. His mentor, Hatake Kakashi, was standing next to him, another mysterious parcel in his hand. Sasuke and Sakura soon followed.

"You're late." Temari sighed. "We sat here for over an hour! What the heck took you guys so long?"

"Um…" Naruto scratched his head. "Kakashi-sensei wanted to take a look at the new Icha Icha Paradise movie. He spent all my money…" He shot a resentful glare at Kakashi. The Jonin pretended not to notice.

"Well, are we going to get moving?" Sasuke coldly asked. "We have everything set up."

The huge group jumped from rooftop to rooftop, one destination in mind…

_ Ding dong…_

"Wha-?" Shikamaru groggily awoke at the sound of the doorbell and slowly sat up. The book that had covered his face slipped off and fell on the floor. "Coming!" He called and took his time answering the door. This had better be good…

"Arf!" A tiny dog dashed past the sleepy ninja to see who had come.

"Hey, Akamaru!" Naruto patted the ninja dog as he entered the house. "I've finally found them, Shikamaru!"

"Oh," the genius yawned as he opened the door wider. "Come in, I guess." Almost instantly he was run over by the huge amount of people who flooded in. Ino, Neji, even Shino… "Naruto! You didn't tell me that so many people were coming!"

Naruto gave a sly snicker. "Oops. Must've slipped my mind."

Shikamaru scowled. "You are so troublesome sometimes…"

"By the way, did you get the food ready?" Kakashi was busy re-reading an Icha Icha novel.

Shikamaru blinked. A burning smell filled the air. "Damn! The food!" When he dozed off he must've forgotten to check on the yakitori! He ran off to the kitchen. Smoke filled the air. Akamaru trotted after him, hoping to snatch some meat.

"…" Sasuke looked at the festive table, neatly decorated. Everyone set their food on the table. There was countless cuisines, all delicious. Deep-fried shrimp from Chouji, oden from the three Sand Sibs…there were too many to list. What really topped all of it off was Rock Lee's. It was a huge plate of mochi of all kinds of flavors, artistically arranged. Rock Lee bragged that it only took an hour to make them. Shikamaru re-entered the room with his burnt food. Without a word, he set it in the tiny corner that was left on the table.

Everyone got seated and were about to eat when Naruto interrupted them. "Wait, wait! We forgot something!" He ran into the kitchen to get his parcel and they heard a loud _pop_. He came back with pint-sized, sizzling bottles of cider. He quickly passed them out to everyone, accidentally spilling one over Sasuke by accident.

"…Naruto…"

"Wha! Sorry! Sorry! Leggo, Sasuke! Ahh! Leggo! HELP!"

Everyone tried their best to ignore Naruto's cries of pain as they began to eat. It was just another holiday for them…

End of Part 1


	2. Chapter 2

"That was a heck of a party." Naruto yawned. Fortunately, Sasuke only gave the blonde a black eye which had healed quickly.

"It'd be less troublesome if you help clean up." Shikamaru grumbled. His entire house was covered with streamers, confetti, and empty soda cans. "My mom's going to throw a fit when she sees this…you know how troublesome women are…"

_Ding dong…_

The remaining guests (which included Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the Sand Sibs) expectantly turned to Shikamaru. He sighed. "I'll get it." So troublesome…He yanked open the door to an unexpected sight. A tiny girl, probably no more than ten stood on his doorstep, her black hair littered with the soft, falling snow. Her clothing was in rags, a thin blanket was wrapped around her shoulders for warmth. In the dim light, Shikamaru could make out the faint glimmer of a forehead protector. Engraved in the metal was the symbol of Sunagakure. Her thin arms clenched a stuffed dog to her chest while her large, hypnotic brown eyes stared with frightening intent.

Her attitude, though, was not the same as her appearance. "Got some food?" She asked. Her tone was rough, bold. The girl stamped her foot on the doorstep, sending a cloudy mist into the air. "I've been traveling and traveling you see…" She barged in, without waiting for Shikamaru's response. "Nice house, man. Mind if I stay? I don't have a place to sleep for the night. Hey," She waved to the others. "The name's Ryuudou Aisu." Aisu extended her hand, waiting for someone to shake it. Naruto was the first to step up.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto eagerly shook her hand.

"Glad to meet you." Aisu nodded.

Sakura stepped up and curiously asked, "What's that stuffed dog for?"

The girl stroked the plushie. "It's my little…secret." She smiled.

Shikamaru was rather annoyed. This girl pops out of nowhere and is chatting away? What the heck? "I don't know who you are, but you-"

"I'll stay for the night, thank you." Aisu shrugged. "Do you have a room? I want a separate room if you please."

The little girl, despite her innocent looks, was as unmoving as a mountain. Shikamaru sighed. "I guess..."

"Swell." Aisu brushed some powdery snow off her coat. "Where am I staying?"

"Unfortunately," Shikamaru interrupted. "You'll have to share a room."

"Share? With who?" The girl crossed her arms.

_Women, always so troublesome_…Shikamaru thought. "Those three." He pointed at the three Sand Sibs. "Pick a person to share a room with. I'm going to bed now." The genius let out a huge yawn and made his way up the stairs. Naruto and the others bid everyone else good-night and took their leave. Aisu glowered at the remaining ninja.

"I'm not going to sleep with any boys!" The girl stamped her foot once more. For the first time, Gaara noticed that she had no shoes. The only thing that covered her feet were some coarse pieces of cloth, darkly colored with red.

"Fine," Kankuro rolled his eyes. He hated little kids who acted like that. "You can sleep on the sofa for all we care!"

"Swell." Aisu jumped onto one of the sofas and tested its firmness. "It seems all right…what are you looking at?" She demanded when she saw that they were still staring at her. "You can go to your rooms or whatever! I'm sleeping here with Penny." It seemed like she was referring to her stuffed dog. She gave the plushie a tender pat on the head and lay down on the sofa. "Well, don't watch me! Go on!"

Temari was the first to leave, followed reluctantly by Kankuro, then Gaara. Outside, the snow gently fell, covering the village with a silent, soft blanket of white…


End file.
